For more than twenty years I've been wandering the woods and waterways of Saratoga County, New York, looking closely, listening carefully. We are blessed in this county with an amazing amount of wilderness right at hand. With this blog I will share a year of adventuring here, seeking out what wonders await in my own Madagascar close to home.

Saturday, February 9, 2019

Rare and Protected Plants of Moreau Lake State Park

Every February, the Friends of Moreau Lake State Park hold a
chili dinner to raise funds to support the park.This
year, when we met to discuss a speaker for this year’s event, it was decided
that there was so much good news to convey about the park, we should have our
own people talk about it, instead of hiring an outside speaker.So Alan Trepper, our new park supervisor, and
Rebecca Mullins, the park’s nature educator, volunteered to report on some of the
many amazing park programs and additions.Then they said to me, Jackie, could you maybe talk for about 10 minutes
on the plants that grow in the park?Ten
MINUTES!!!?Man, I’ve been wandering
this park for more than 25 years, documenting every plant I could find, which now
add up to about 400 species – and that’s just wildflowers, not counting trees,
mosses, ferns, lichens, liverworts, etc., etc., etc.Heck, I could talk for ten HOURS and still
not shut up! (As some of my friends already know.)But then I relented.How about I talk about just the rare and
protected plants I’ve found in the park?So that’s what I did at the chili dinner.

Here’s the text of my talk, along with the photos I shared.

Moreau Lake State Park really IS a treasure house of native
and rare species.When I visit nature preserves
in other parts of our state, I feel lucky if I can find any native plants
besides Skunk Cabbage and Poison Ivy, due to deer overpopulation and rampant
invasive species.But Moreau is
remarkable for offering within its nearly 6,000 acres many different, virtually
pristine habitats that support a huge variety of native plant species. Among those native plants are three that are classified by our state as Endangered, one that is rated as Threatened, two that are rated as Rare. And we also can find in this park a dozen orchids, all of them protected species and included in the classification of Exploitably Vulnerable.

Many folks, when they think of Moreau Lake State Park, think
the park consists of the beach and the campgrounds and that’s about all. But
the park contains a heck of a lot more than that! Here's a recent map of the park that reveals its extensive holdings. (And doesn't yet show the thousand MORE acres the park is due to acquire, thanks to recent acquisitions.)

We have a big chunk of
a the Palmertown mountain range and miles of both banks of the Hudson River
banks. Here's a view from one of our mountain heights, looking over the Hudson River and including some of the park's forested acreage across the river into Warren County.

We have pine woods and
hardwood forests; lakeshore, streambanks, swamp and bog; soils that are basic
and others that are acidic; rocky heights and soggy lowlands. We even have THREE lakes: Lake Moreau, of
course, but also Lake Ann way up in the mountains, as well as the beautiful
Lake Bonita, shown below, which we acquired along with the former Mt. McGregor Prison lands.

So it’s really not too surprising that I’ve found
some really rare species here, and I’m here to tell you about them.

Three ENDANGERED Species

Keep in mind, now, that rare doesn’t necessarily mean
gorgeous. This rather weedy- looking Whorled Mountain Mint, for example,is among the rarest plants in the state.

In fact, Whorled Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. verticillatum) is classified by the New York Natural
Heritage Program as an ENDANGERED plant
(meaning it occurs in no more than 5 sites throughout the state). Well, Moreau Park has the healthiest and most
abundant population of all, almost 300 flowering plants concentrated on one
sandy shore of a cove.

Now, I think you’d
agree that a bouquet of these probably wouldn’t impress a lady on your first
date -- unless she was maybe a rare-plant botanist!Or if she had a magnifier and could get a
really close look at the tiny white, purple polka-dotted florets.

(Of course, if she really WERE a rare-plant botanist, she’ be pretty
irked with you for picking this endangered plant!)

Which reminds me to advise you here: ALL plants in the park, whether rare or common, are NOT to be picked, EVER!

Here’s another flower that thrives at Moreau but almost
nowhere else in the state, the Large-leaved Avens (Geum macrophyllum var. macrophyllum).

Although it
may look like just another weed, the Large-leaved Avens is actually an ENDANGERED species in our state, according to the New York Natural Heritage
Program.Well, it sure isn’t endangered
here in THIS park!

When the Natural Heritage Program's rare-plant monitor Rich
Ring (above, left) joined park staff member Maranda Welch and our former park manager Peter Iskenderian to search for
more Large-leaved Avens after my pal Sue Pierce and I had found a few specimens, we stopped
counting after we’d found over a hundred healthy specimens along one of the
park’s sunny trails.

Here’s one more plant Rich Ring and I found at Moreau that is classified
as ENDANGERED in the state, and I
still can’t believe we managed to find it, it’s so tiny.Called Small-flowered Dwarf Bulrush (Cyperus subsquarrosus), it’s so small we could have covered this entire plant with a single 50-cent piece!

But we found THOUSANDS of this wee little flatsedge, all along the
sandy or pebbly shore of the lake. I was
told this plant hadn’t been reported at Moreau since 1961 – that’s 57 years
ago! And we wouldn’t have found it now,
if the lake level hadn’t fallen so low. These plants were growing on shores
that had been underwater until about 3 or 4 years ago. Apparently, the seeds had survived underwater
all those years and only now, exposed to the air, did they grow and bloom once
more. We were really lucky we went looking for them this past early September. After all the rain we’ve had since then, the
shore where we found them is once again under water. It may take another 50-plus years before we
find them again.

One THREATENED Species

So.That’s THREE
Endangered species we have, the rarest category of all.And we also have at least one plant that’s
classified as THREATENED, the next
rarest class of plants, known to exist in more than 6 and up to 20 sites in New
York State. This is the Small Floating
Bladderwort (Utricularia radiata).

You won’t find this plant while hiking the trails or walking the beach,
but you might if you paddle the river,where this plant goes floating along on
the river’s current. It’s held erect in
the water by those swollen “pontoons” that radiate from its leafless stem. Because it has no green leaves to
photosynthesize, this plant has to obtain its nutrients by other means, which
it does through the masses of tiny bladders that it trails along underwater. Each of those tiny sacs can suck in even
tinier aquatic animals, which the plant then digests and feeds on.

Two RARE Species

The next, still rare but somewhat more abundant category of
unusual plants is called, simply, RARE.Plants in this category are known to exist in
between 21 to 100 extant sites.One of
those sites is our own Moreau Lake State Park, where I have found two species
that fall within that classification. First is the spectacularly beautiful Great St. John’s Wort (Hypericum ascyron ssp. pyramidatum).

Of all the state-listed plants we
have in the park, this is perhaps the showiest, with blooms as big as two
inches across, and standing on stems almost 4 feet high. I’d found a few of these plants for years on
one of the Hudson islands, but the biggest patch I’ve ever seen is one I found
in the property that’s soon to be among the park’s newest land acquisitions,
the Smith Farm Parcel.

A second plant we have in the RARE category is this pretty little thing called Small-flowered Gerardia (Agalinis paupercula).

Actually, when you see how
abundantly this flower grows on the sandy shores of Moreau Lake, it’s hard to
believe it could ever have been considered a rare plant, but that’s how it had
been listed in the New York Flora Association’s Plant Atlas. I did learn that it was recently moved from
the RARE to the WATCH list, which means it’s becoming more abundant in the
state, but its populations will still be monitored. At any
rate, it’s certainly not a rare plant in Moreau Lake State Park and hasn’t been
for many years! Start looking for it
along the lakeshore in early September.

The Orchids of Moreau Lake State Park

OK, those are all the plants I have found in the park (so
far!) that are classified by the state as truly rare species. But we have another category of protected
plants that are classified as EXPLOITABLY
VULNERABLE.These are plants that,
even if they’re abundant now, are likely to become threatened in the future and
so are protected by law. Within that category are many of our state’s native
orchids – all those that aren’t already classified as Endangered, Threatened,
or Rare -- and Moreau Lake State Park has LOTS of orchids.Many folks are surprised to learn that New
York is home to at least 60 species of native orchid. And 12 of those species grow
right here in our favorite park.

The Pink Lady’s
Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is probably our showiest – and certainly the most
abundant – of all our orchids in the park.

When this lovely orchid finds a habitat it likes, it can thrive by
dozens at a site. It is happiest in sandy soil under pines, a habitat that is
quite common at Moreau.

Our next two orchids are among our least showy, requiring a
close look at their blooms to appreciate their “orchid-ness.”I’m talking about our two Rattlesnake Plantains (Goodyera spp.), both of which bear tiny white florets
along an erect central stalk.The
florets of both species look very much alike, and here is a close-up photo of
one of them. (I believe this floret belongs to the Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, due to its furry hairs.)

What really sets these two species apart are their leaves,
which lie in basal rosettes close to the ground.Here are the dark-green, boldly patterned,
curvaceous leaves of the Downy
Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens).

And here are the paler, more subtly patterned leaves of the Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain (G. tesselata).

And here’s a photo of the entire plant.

As the leaves reveal, this
happens to be the Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain, but the Downy ones look very
similar.

Our next two orchid species – the Ladies’ Tresses Orchids --
are not very showy either, although their flowers are marginally larger.Much like the Rattlesnake Plantains, the
Ladies’ Tresses bear spikes of small white flowers on erect central
stalks.Of the two, our more abundant
species is the Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua), with pure white florets that have gracefully downward-curving
lower lips.

I find abundant numbers of
these pretty orchids along the lake shore in early September.

A much earlier bloomer, the Shining Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes lucida) is a somewhat
smaller plant with florets that have a distinctly yellow lower lip.

I find
the Shining Ladies' Tresses much less frequently. If
I’m lucky, I might find one or two plants along the Hudson riverbanks in June.

Speaking of yellow, this next orchid has a scientific name (Platanthera flava) that translates as
“yellow orchid.”

And yes, this orchid is
rather yellowish, but its common name, Tubercled
Orchid, is descriptive of another aspect of the
plant. Note the little bump (called a
tubercle) on the floret’s lower lip.
Again, not a very showy orchid, but an orchid, nonetheless. This orchid
likes its feet wet, so look for it along the river. I have found a large patch
of 20 or more on one of the river islands.

Not only is the Smaller Purple Fringed Orchid a gorgeous flower, it’s also relatively common
orchid. Sometimes, that is. Orchids can
be frustratingly fickle, failing to bloom where you found them last year. Sometimes,
if their flowers get pollinated and they set seed, they may not re-bloom for
many years. But happily, if you keep
looking around the same area, you might find some blooming near where you found
them before. I often find this Purple
Fringed Orchid while paddling the Hudson in July (but rarely in the exact same
location).

Ah, here’s another lovely one, an orchid that almost looks
like the kind our moms pinned to their prom dresses back in their high school
days. This is the Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides).

Rose Pogonia is a wetland orchid that prefers an acidic habitat. Happily, Moreau Park
acquired just such a habitat when the park gained ownership of Lake Bonita. If
you go looking for it there in early July, better bring your binoculars, since
it grows most abundantly out on the little islands that boaters are not allowed
to approach, since paddling is forbidden on this little pristine lake.

Here’s one more rather showy orchid that grows in Moreau
Lake State Park.In fact, its name is
actually Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis).

I don’t find the Showy Orchis very often though, because to look for it again, I would have
to risk scraping the undercarriage off my car on the rocky Hawk Road lane that
leads to the parking area for our Warren County holdings on the other side of
the Hudson. The soil over there is calcareous (limey), which is what this
orchid requires. At least I did find it once, or I wouldn’t have this photo to
prove it.

I’m really lucky to have this clear a photo of my next
orchid, the Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata).

This little orchid is not
only very small, it is also very greenish -- the same color as its swampy
surroundings -- and it also grows in deep shade. All factors my camera hates! Trying to focus under these conditions can be
quite frustrating. And I also have to
squat in the mud to photograph it, which can make my camera hand shake. (Not
to mention, making my fanny damp, as well!)

Those same factors also made it hard to photograph this Early Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida),
which is only a little less greenish than the Green Wood Orchid and not any bigger, either.

Those two
orchids actually grow in the very same swamp, within a few yards of each
other. But because the Early Coralroot
blooms earlier in the year before the tree canopy closes in completely, a bit
more daylight penetrated the swampy gloom when I took this shot, so it was easier to get a focused photo.

OK, here's the last flower of this presentation, the Autumn Coralroot Orchid (Corallorhiza odontorhiza var. odontorhiza).

I’m guessing this photo might offer a hint as to how I got to be called a total
wildflower nerd. Who else but an absolutely obsessed wildflower hunter would
look hard enough to discover this almost invisible plant? Not only is it very small and skinny, but
also its reddish stems and yellowish bracts are almost exactly the same colors
as the forest floor in autumn.

Even when it’s in full bloom, it’s not much
easier to see! That single wee little purple-dotted petal is all you get with this orchid, if indeed you even get that!

The Autumn Coralroot is actually a rather abundant orchid of the autumn woods at Moreau, especially
along the Red Oak Ridge Trail. A whole
bunch of them used to grow in a wooded area by the beach parking lot, but then
the park’s grounds crews blew several feet of fallen leaves over them. I haven’t found them there again for a couple
of years. But you can bet I’ll still
keep searching for them.

And if anyone wants to come along as I search for plants, I’d
be happy to have you join me.Just be
aware, though, that it sometimes takes me an hour or more to cover a hundred
yards!But who knows?We might just find some more rare
species.I hope it’s obvious, from what
we’ve seen here, that Moreau lake State Park sure is a great place to look for
them.

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"I wish to live ever as to derive my satisfactions and inspirations from the commonest events. . . so that my daily walk, the conversation of my neighbors may inspire me, and I may dream of no heaven but that which lies about me." -- Henry Thoreau: Mar. 11, 1856

Narrow-Leaved Gentian

Bittersweet Nightshade berries

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A selection of photos, using either a Canon PowerShot G7 or, more recently, a Canon PowerShot S95. All photos and text of this blog are copyrighted by Jacqueline Donnelly. Those embedded in the text can be enlarged with a click of the mouse. The ones in this sidebar cannot.